


Better Than a Blanket

by Forest_Girl



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Cuddling, Dante is a walking talking furnace, Devil Trigger (Devil May Cry), Fluff, Hair Brushing, Huddling For Warmth, IDK but I read it once SOMEWHERE and I'm going with it, Is Dante's shop located in a city called Capulet?, M/M, Mood Ring Devil Bringer, Nero is a wimp when it comes to the cold, Platonic Cuddling, Pre-Slash, but the relationship is implied, you can pry those headcannons from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 01:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20381116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forest_Girl/pseuds/Forest_Girl
Summary: Winters in Capulet were terribly cold—well, by Nero’s standards, anyways. Truth be told, he probably could’ve dealt with it if Dante had any heating in his shop.Nero should’ve known the cheap bastard wouldn’t have bothered with it.





	Better Than a Blanket

When Nero initially moved into the Devil May Cry office, he’d done so mainly to learn how to be a better devil hunter. Dante had years of experience compared to Nero, and Kyrie had constantly reassured him that she could handle herself, so it seemed like a good idea.

Plus, it let him get away from the untrusting stares of the remaining members of the Order until tensions lessened, so… yeah.

Dante let him stay, perhaps a little too easily considering that Nero didn’t have a lot of money, and he _ really _ didn’t have any long-term plan in mind. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to at least go on a few hunts with Dante and learn a few tricks of the trade, more or less. 

However, Dante not only welcomed him to Capulet with a warm smile, but he also gave him a spare room in the shop to call his own, and basically free reign of everything except the basement and his chair. To say Nero was surprised was an understatement, but maybe he should’ve expected it. After all, Dante’s whole goal in Fortuna was to get back his family’s swords, but he ended up only taking one and letting Nero keep the other.

Still, Nero stayed, and ended up taking more than a few hunts. The warmth of late summer eventually faded as fall came. The leaves fell, and the days turned colder and shorter, winter sinking its long, chilled claws into the city.

Now, through the months of living with Dante, Nero had learned a lot. Not about fighting, since Dante wasn’t training him (and Nero doubted he would want to listen to any of his half assed ‘lessons’), but about the man himself. Even with Nero helping out and taking up more jobs, Dante still struggled to pay all of his bills. Sure, things had apparently improved since Nero showed up and helped with his accounts, but they still struggled to pay for rent and all the other utilities since Dante frequently refused to accept payment from most of his clients.

So Nero should’ve only been _ mildly _ surprised that, either to save money or because Dante was an idiot who didn’t care, the shop didn’t have any protection against the cold. No proper insulation or glazing, because the building was apparently ‘ancient’ and it was too expensive, and the only thing that acted as a heater was a busted radiator in the far corner, right by one of the front windows.

Nero clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chatter as he riffled through his toolbox, glaring at the radiator’s rusted pipes. Winters in Fortuna were incredibly mild—they rarely, dipped anywhere near freezing temperatures in the city, and Nero could easily get through the day with just his jacket alone. Capulet, on the other hand, stayed below freezing throughout the entire season, and multiple snowstorms to accompany it.

Needless to say, Nero was going a bit nuts from the lack of heat. It was incredibly annoying that he’d go on a hunt, or on a simple grocery run, and end up with his pants and shoes completely waterlogged from trudging through the piles of snow. And even worse, Dante didn’t have a washing machine _ or _a dryer, so if anything Nero wore got wet, he’d either have to hang it up in the bathroom or deal with it and wait for his own body heat to dry it.

And Dante, the smug prick he was, was just sitting in his chair, watching Nero struggle to fix the busted radiator with something almost like pity. Nero said _ almost _ because there was a distinct glimmer of amusement in his eyes that made him simmer with anger.

Well, at least his emotions were keeping him warm. For now.

“Don’t you fucking laugh!” Nero pointed his finger at Dante with a scowl.

“I’m not, it’s just… I’m pretty sure that the radiator hasn’t worked since I bought the shop.”

“So for a good century, at least?” Nero took pride at the brief flash of annoyance that crossed his face. “Hey, if you didn’t want me to insult you, you should’ve paid the for better heating than this hunk of junk.” He tapped his wrench against one of the radiator’s pipes for emphasis.

“Why pay for something I don’t need?” Dante shrugged. “What can I say, kid. I don’t get cold.”

“Bullshit.” Nero sniped, finally giving up on the radiator and closing the toolbox aggressively. “Everyone gets cold.”

“Not me. You think I’m wearing a t-shirt just to piss you off?”

Nero had noticed Dante’s… particular choice to wear a tight, black t-shirt that accentuated _ way _ too much. He also wasn’t wearing his trademark jacket, and with his arms propped behind his head, it left absolutely nothing to Nero’s imagination. While he was trying to warm the place up, Nero had to admit that working on the radiator had the benefit of distracting him from… certain things he wanted to ignore.

“No, I think you’re not wearing something warmer because you forgot to do your laundry.” It was quickly established, when Nero initially moved in, that Dante only did chores if they were absolutely necessary. Trudging through two blocks worth of snow to get to the laundromat was more than enough to ward Dante away from doing anything productive.

Nero picked up the toolbox, barely resisting the urge to throw it at Dante, and decided instead to stalk up to the other hunter and slam it onto his desk. It didn’t do much to lessen his anger or his shivering, so he glared at Dante, doing his best not to pout.

Judging by the way Dante’s eyes flicked down, taking in the _ many _ layers Nero currently had on, he’d failed. Dante’s smirk fell, and he let out a sigh. He stood from his chair and walked around his desk, throwing his arm over Nero’s shoulder, pulling him towards the couch. “Alright kid, I’ll warm you up.”

Nero almost pulled away from Dante out of sheer annoyance. However, even through the multiple layers of clothes he had on, Nero could feel almost _ scalding _ heat seep through. It was the first genuine warmth he’d felt in the past few days, and he begrudgingly let Dante guide him through the shop.

Well, up until Dante shoved him face-down on the couch and laid on top of him.

“What the fuck—!” Nero thrashed, only for Dante to wiggle his arms beneath Nero’s chest, pinning his arms to his sides. He growled and tried to sit up, but he didn’t have any leverage and Dante was _ heavy. _ Sure, Nero could lift and move around damn near anything, regardless of weight, but Dante had effectively pinned him, and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Nero gnashed his teeth and snarled, but it was all bark and no bite. He could feel Dante’s heat seeping through his clothes and warming him up, and his wiggling died down after a few minutes. He shivered, unconsciously pressing back against Dante and relaxing as best he could in the awkward position. He turned his head to the side to breathe better, sending a half-hearted glare to Dante over his shoulder. “Did you _ really _have to—”

Nero cut himself off, tensing when he saw deep red and dusky gray scales, a patch of white slicked back into smaller spikes. A pair of orange eyes glowed faintly, nearly hiding slit pupils.

Dante grinned, showing off sharp teeth, little spikes along his jawline pressing against Nero’s shoulder. “Hey, kid.”

He knew Dante could trigger. Or, at the very least, he’d _ assumed _ he could, and that it looked similar to his own. Most of the jobs they’d taken together after the Savior hadn’t required anything more than some heavy slashes and many, _ many _ bullets.

Needless to say, Nero did not expect a fully armored demon man laying on top of him when he woke up this morning.

After a few seconds where Nero refused to relax, Dante stopped grinning—which was actually a relief, since it meant his shark-like teeth weren’t on display. “Hey, Nero, it’s still me.”

“…I know.” Nero said, but he remained tense. He knew Dante wasn’t human, he _ knew, _ but this was still a lot to take in at once, with Dante pressing up against his back. “Do you… _ have _ to be like that?”

“I give off the most heat when triggered,” Dante offered as an explanation, but he pinched his brow and managed to push himself up, keeping some distance between him and Nero. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can—”

“N-no!” Nero blurted out, feeling the cold air of the shop seep between him and Dante, chasing off the warmth that had begun to seep through his clothing. Even as uncomfortable as he was, he really, _ really _ wanted to be warm, devil trigger be damned. “It’s fine, just… a lot.”

“You sure?” Dante lifted himself up, and Nero barely held back a whine as cold air filled the empty space between them, sucking away any warmth he’d gotten. “I can go if you want—”

“Oh my _ god.” _ Nero managed to free his Devil Bringer and twist his arm around until he managed to grab Dante’s shoulder. With a growl, Nero pulled the older hunter down, holding back a shudder as the heat returned. _ “Stay _ dumbass.”

Dante chuckled, which sounded like rumbling thunder with his warped voice, but he settled against Nero’s back without further interruptions. Nero rolled his eyes and wiggled into a slightly more comfortable position before finally relaxing on the couch.

It wasn’t the best position, but if it was what Nero was going to get, he’d deal with it. After all, Dante was _smoldering _against his back, heat sinking through his jacket and two layers of shirts.

“You good?” Dante asked after a few seconds, his voice sending vibrations through Nero’s back. Nero shivered at the feeling, his eyes closing slightly. He felt like he’d entered paradise, finally free from suffering through the cold.

“For the tenth time, I’m fine.” Nero said, though his voice lacked any of its usual bite. He tried to push himself up against Dante’s chest to eat up as much warmth as possible. Dante’s chest shook above him, but he pushed down against Nero’s back, so he bit back his initial reaction to yell at the older hunter.

Before long Nero felt his eyes grow heavy. The jukebox puttered on in the corner of the shop, playing some old rock song at a low-enough volume that it didn’t disrupt the tentative peace between them. The streets outside were, for once, quiet, a rare thing in the constantly-bustling city of Capulet. His Devil Bringer pulsed rhythmically with a faint yellow light besides him, blending in with the bold red and orange glow emanating from Dante.

It was, quite possibly, the most peaceful Nero felt since leaving Fortuna.

“Falling asleep?” Dante rumbled above him, and Nero made a vaguely grumpy noise in response. Still, he couldn’t hide the blush lighting up his cheeks, and he waited for Dante to laugh at him.

Instead, Dante moved his arm from Nero’s side (he involuntarily shivered at the slight burst of cold air hitting his side) to his head, his claws gently carding through his hair. Nero initially tensed at the sensation, his body reacting to feeling claws _ anywhere _ on his body kicked his fight or flight instincts into action.

But, as Dante continued to… groom him, he guessed, Nero felt his body slowly relax. After a few minutes, he had to fight to keep his eyes open.

“It’s alright. Take a breather, kid. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

He wanted to stay awake, to remember this perfect moment of comfort and cherish it for as long as possible, but it was a losing battle. As he slipped off into sleep, all Nero could hope for was that Dante would still be there when he woke up.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea essentially grabbed me by the throat and demanded I write it, so here you go! It was originally going to be for Day 1 of Danero Week but I felt that it didn’t fit the prompt, so I changed it up and decided to post about it now.


End file.
